Iquique is as far north as I am going in Chile

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So almost three weeks into my trip and according to my plans of heading south in Chile then working my way up through Argentina, I am currently in negative territory as I am 1465km north of Santiago where I started my trip about three weeks ago. Oh well, for the opportunity to travel with friends it has been worth it. Iquique (ee-key-kay) is a destination I thought I would get to while living in Bolivia, but the stars didn't line up correctly and I never made it over to Chile, so here I am now.

After an early arrival in the city and a nap at the Hosteling International Backpacker's Hostel Iquique (http://www.hihostels.com/dba/hostel012020.en.htm) and working out some small details, such as finding a bus back to Bolivia for Alejandro and Linnea, we were on our way to Humberstone, a mining ghost town outside of Iquique. The bus ride out there was only 45 minutes long and even though this bus was more for local routes, it still had a washroom on it, something that Bolivian buses that go for 12 hours don't have 😞 The site of Humberstone consists of two parts, one being more of the mining facilities and the town itself, containing houses, a church, a hotel, a theatre, schools, among many other things. We thought we could visit the site in about an hour but this was not the case. It took up most of the afternoon for us to walk through the mining facilites and the town. Quite neat that this town has been totally abandoned and that it is still intact. Of course, if I had children, I would not let them run around this site alone as there are scrap pieces of metal lying everywhere, rusting away. To get back to the city afterwards, we sat beside the highway for the next bus to come along and luckily this wasn't long after we started waiting.

Back at the hostel that night, the hostel was hosted a barbecue for 3.500 pesos ($7). It included a steak (Argentinian style), chorizo and chicken, as well as side dishes to accompany all the meet. Oh yeah, there was lots of wine included with the meal as well 😊 Afterwards, the residents of the hostel and some of the hostel owners friends continued enjoying wine and Alejandro and I enjoyed the other bottles of wine with other guests that we had purchased before hand. At about 3AM, I looked at my watch and decided it was probably a good time to go to bed... where the night went, I have no idea!

For Alejandro, Linnea and I, the next day, Saturday, would be our last day traveling together as in the afternoon they are to catch a bus to Arica so they can catch a bus to La Paz on Sunday morning. We spent our day roaming around downtown Iquique and reading on the beach. Linnea and I tried to go for a swim but the ocean was too cold for us on this day. Too bad but the water looked so nice! After seeing them off at the bus station, I headed back to the hostel and ended up going out for beer with some other guests who I had met the night before. I thought it would be a quiet night, but I was wrong.

I spent another two nights in Iquique without my friends there before heading south again and trying to get back on schedule (which I think will be impossible). On Monday, I decided to try out paragliding, flying tandem with an experienced flyer. Iquique is suppose to be heaven for paragliders as it is suppose to have the best conditions for it in the world. Started from the top of the city, we ran off what look to be a cliff (only a very steep hill) and we took off, first ascending even more with the updrafts and then over Iquique, landing near the beach. Great views from Iquique from above. I have to say that the ride was pretty relaxing and quite a bit of fun! Of courses, I had to tell me mom about this afterwards as I didn't want to make her worry about me. I am sure she probably wonders what crazy things I am up to everyday 😊

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Photos

Entrance to Humberstone
A mining ghost town near Iquique

Deserted street....
I wonder why this would be in a deserted town?

Comments

[brian]

cool
nice bus! how do u keep finding canadian beer in your travels?